


Heat Stroke

by ohmytheon



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Crack Treated Seriously, Day At The Beach, Everybody Lives, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Humor, Jealous Kaz, Jealousy, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 22:27:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10448913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: It's just a day at the beach for the Dregs, a moment to enjoy the fresh air and sun, except Kaz Brekker is having none of it. He doesn't even know why he came here. (Yes he does: he came for Inej.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this is pure crack. It’s fluff with a tinge of angst because I can’t write anything but that, but also because Kaz is the most melodramatic and Extra person there is. Boy, could you just be easy for once? Based on a silly tumblr post that had me rolling. I’m a sucker for jealousy fics. Also, this is low-key one of my favorite tropes. This is my first Six of Crows fic. I don’t plan on writing many because I’ve got too much on my plate and I don’t know if I can get a handle on the characters. But I did have fun writing this. Kaz kind of reminds me of Roy in a strange way tbh.

The mere idea of going to the beach sent Kaz into a silent, near frothing rage. Who in their right mind would want to go to the beach? What was good about them anyways? There was too much sun, too much pointless salty water, and far too many people, most of whom were in an ungodly state of undress that made him want to pay them to cover up.

Sure, it would be easy pickings, considering that people left all their belongings just lying around in the sand on their blankets while they splashed about like ducklings in the ocean or snoozed in the sun, but that wasn’t even fun. What was picking money off of lazy tourists after breaking into an impregnable prison and destroying the lives of not one but two filthy, scheming bastards?

There was no way in hell that Kaz would step foot on those sandy shores. He’d hightail it back to Ketterdam and its slums before he did that.

Then, of course, he overheard Inej mentioning to Nina that she couldn’t wait to be on the beach again. The last time she had been on one, she had been stolen from her family. She was excited to make new memories, much happier ones, to replace the one that had been forced upon her. Would the sand feel the same beneath her toes – like quicksand? Would the ocean water lull her into a daze until she felt like she was drifting in the center of the universe? Would the sun warm her skin and bleed color into her again?

And that was how Kaz found himself standing on the edge of a beach, just inches away from the sand. Enough of it had been tramped onto the sidewalk, grainy underneath his shoes, and he scowled at the contact.

Everyone else was ready and excited to have some proper fun. Nina had made sure to set up their base camp on the beach, including a large umbrella, so that, in her words, “Kaz could have somewhere to sulk in the dark”. He hadn’t appreciated the remark, but he would undoubtedly spend his time under it anyways. Already the sun pricked at his pale skin irritably. He wasn’t meant for this kind of weather. Where were the clouds? Where was the rain? Where was the dreariness that seeped into a man’s bones and left him shivering?

Jesper snorted as he came up to stand next to Kaz, flipping up his sunglasses. “Nice suit, Kaz. Not sure it’s for the right occasion, however.”

Kaz glowered at Jesper, but it didn’t have the same effect as normal. Being out in the sun in a place like this was going directly to the other boy’s head. He looked right at home here with his flamboyant lime green and blue swim trunks and his skin gleaming darkly in the sun and soaking up the rays. Jesper was the complete opposite of Kaz, who was wearing a dark suit, though not with as many layers as normal. He’d opted for something made with thin material. At least he wasn’t wearing his gloves, though the amount of near naked people had him itching to snatch them from Inej’s bag where he’d put them.

“Come on, relax! Have some fun! Even you deserve it.”

“This,” Kaz pointed out, “is not my idea of fun.”

“Go con some hapless tourists if it’ll make you feel better,” Jesper told him. He put his sunglasses back down and glanced behind them. An amused and sneaky grin found its way onto his face. When Kaz turned to look, he saw what had caught Jesper’s attention: Wylan, attempting to carry far too many things at once, his wavy red hair practically glowing in the sun. “Some of us are going to enjoy every last bit of this vacation.”

Once Jesper left to help Wylan – or tease him or both – Kaz turned back to face the beach and the ocean and shoved his hands into his pockets. He might’ve liked this at one point in his life. Large bodies of water held little enjoyment for him these days, but it was more tolerable than before. Besides, the blue ocean of the Ravka shore was much different than the rough, freezing waters that surrounded Ketterdam. Nothing terrible looked like it could happen here, although he knew that even the prettiest of places held dark secrets and terrible wounds.

Maybe a shark would pop up and cause a thrill. That would at least be entertaining.

Familiar laughter drew his attention, the one laugh that reminded him of the sun and made things brighter even in his dark mind, and his eyes snapped in that direction. There was Inej, sitting cross-legged on the blanket. She was smiling as Matthias blushed and attempted to help Nina with her sunscreen. The Heartrender was making it as difficult as possible for him, lounging in an unseemly manner, which caused him the bluster every time she moved or breathed. Her swimsuit, red of course, hugged her curves in a way that dragged the eyes of every man and woman twenty feet from them, but she only had eyes for Matthias.

Well, almost every man. Kaz was mainly focused on Inej.

She was still wearing a loose-fitting black shirt and shorts. He knew that she was nervous about showing skin. The last time she had shown so much skin in public was when she had been trapped at the House of Exotics. She had kept to modest clothing since then, except for the time when she’d been forced to don a costume again during the Ice Court heist. But this would be all her, no one forcing her to do anything, hence why no one had tried to goad her out of her clothes. If she wanted to swim in them, no one would say a word, least of all Kaz.

He glanced down at his own clothes. He knew a thing or two about armor and levels of comfort.

But he also knew how much she wanted to do this. She had confessed to being nervous, but also that she wanted to prove herself capable. She was stronger than her past. She was ready to take more steps forward. Again, Kaz’s bare hands itched for the safety of his gloves. No, she was right. It was time to be stronger.

He still wasn’t going to like any of this.

Jesper blew past him in a rush, walking through the sand like it was nothing. When he reached their blanket, Nina squealed and scolded him as he kicked up sand, peppering him with threats that he ignored. Instead, he threw himself down next to Inej, holding a pair of goggles, and the two of them marveled at their darker complexions next to Matthias who was already starting to turn pink.

“It won’t be so bad,” Wylan’s voice came from the left. Kaz looked down at him, but the shorter boy wasn’t paying attention. He seemed almost as hesitant to enter the sand as Kaz, tentatively touching it with his bare feet before shaking his head and sliding his flip flop back on. At least he didn’t comment on Kaz’s poor choice in footwear or clothing. “But you’re going to want to put sunscreen on, even if you hide under the umbrella.”

“An expert on the sun, are we?” Kaz replied.

Wylan gave him an awkward smile. “No, just a lesson learned through experience. The sunburn was unbearable. I could barely sleep for three days.”

Not much of a difference from Kaz’s normal sleep schedule. But he didn’t fancy the idea of getting a sunburn. All the dead, peeling skin made him want to shudder and possibly throw up. He begrudgingly took the bottle of sunscreen that Wylan offered him, but said nothing in return.

Together, the two of them braved the sand, neither one of them fairing as well as the others, but they eventually made it to the blanket. Kaz ducked under the umbrella, just as everyone knew he would, while Wylan flushed and wiggled away as Jesper fought to get his shirt off to rub sunscreen on him. Despite everything, Kaz could tell that everyone was having fun. There was a happy glow about them all that had nothing to do with the sun. It would never be like that with him, but he was fine with it. If they could have a moment of unburdened happiness, then good for them. He’d helped them get here. If not for an easy life like this, then for what?

While Nina proclaimed that she was going to sunbathe – “I have to get extra sun to make up for Kaz” – the others decided to head to the ocean. Inej glanced at Kaz, who merely nodded his head, and smiled as she stood up to join the others. The boys were already down to their swim trunks, although both Matthias and Wylan seemed hesitant to part with their sandals and dare the heat of the sand on their bare skin. In the end, both boys ditched them, took deep breaths, and bolted towards the water, Wylan half squealing and half cringing as he did so. Matthias was probably too proud to admit any pain.

After a moment’s hesitation that involved looking at the people around her, Inej seemed to come to a decision. No one was going to notice her, not with Nina right there. Part of Kaz thought Nina was being so outrageous was to draw attention away from Inej to make her feel more comfortable. It was a very sneaky thing to do, but thoughtful as well, something that sounded very much like a Dregs thing to do. Underhanded compassion. Was there any other way?

Slowly, Inej began to peel off the outer layers of her clothes. Kaz made sure to look elsewhere. He desperately tried to focus on a bird skimming over the water, but he could feel her out of the corner of his eyes, beckoning him to look. He gritted his teeth. No, he wouldn’t make her feel uncomfortable. He wouldn’t let his gaze rove over her. He wasn’t a pig. He was stronger than this. It was nothing. _This_ was nothing.

It was definitely something though. Kaz was scanning the area, avoiding her, when he noticed another young man their age perk up. Kaz wasn’t going to look. He wasn’t like that idiot. He didn’t even want to look. It was just Inej, just another outfit. The excess of skin was nothing. And then she was laughing, darting towards the ocean.

“Oh, that is a lovely bikini,” Jesper noted. “Did you help her pick it out Nina?”

“I wanted her to be comfortable,” Nina sighed happily, “but also feel stunning.”

Kaz couldn’t help it. He didn’t mean to turn his head to look. He was only trying to find one of the books that Inej had packed for him, but then he saw her and his mind turned to actual sand, all thoughts slipping right through him until he was staring intently. Nothing else mattered. Not the silly pigeons waiting to be picked, not the annoying actual birds flapping over them, not the awful sand or the despicable sun. Just Inej.

It was a simple swimsuit really, not a full on bikini. Short shorts and a crop top, both solid black, but it stuck to her body. The amount of her skin showing made Kaz almost shiver. He’d never seen so much of it before. It was like his brain didn’t know how to register it. He wanted to run his hand up her arm, down the smooth skin of her thighs, her belly that had a few scars marking it. He wanted to just run and leave this place, get as far away from her as he could, because he didn’t know what to do with himself.

How could he want something and be so terrified of it (of her)  at the same time?

“Wow,” Jesper said, “she looks great. Just gorgeous really.” He chuckled and went to nudge Kaz in the side, though he missed Kaz by a few inches. He never actually touched Kaz, just faked the gestures. “Looks like some of these boys here have never seen a Suli girl – at least not one as beautiful as Inej. Any of them could ask her out.”

“Not if I kill them first,” Kaz grumbled under his breath without thinking.

Jesper howled with laughter while Nina harrumphed, not even bothering to adjust herself. She laid perfectly still, sunglasses framing her face, as she hummed, “So romantic.”

Kaz blinked, suddenly aware that he’d actually spoken aloud. He hadn’t even thought about it. The words had come out of his mouth. He’d thought that he just thought them. He finally managed to jerk his eyes away from Inej to shoot daggers at Jesper, who was grinning cheekily as his laughter slowly died down.

“Well that’s one way to ensure you win a girl’s heart,” he said. “Kill off all her potential suitors.”

Refusing to acknowledge the subject any further, Kaz snatched a book out of Inej’s bag and opened it up, not bothering to even see what it was about. He wasn’t really one for reading, seeing as how he had better and more important things to do, but was surprised to find it was a history on the Council of Tides – or what little history and facts could be gleamed about the mysterious group. She’d packed thoughtfully, knowing that he would be bored and wouldn’t like being at the beach.

A few seconds later, Jesper left to join the others in the ocean, leaving Kaz and Nina alone in silence on the blanket. The book was interesting enough, considering that it was what he was researching in Ketterdam right now, but every now and then, his eyes would find their way back to her. Water slipped off of her as she jumped out and then dove back under, her dark hair slick and dripping. His breath almost stopped every single time and then he would force himself back into the book.

What felt like hours later but could’ve been minutes, Nina abruptly said, “I didn’t think you’d come.” When Kaz didn’t respond, she propped herself up on her elbows and looked back at him. “Why did you?”

_Because I wanted to see her smile. I wanted to hear her laugh. I wanted to be in her new memory. I wanted to be a part of something good for her._

“I felt like I was getting into a rut,” Kaz told her instead. “A break and going somewhere new can jog something.”

Nina gave him a lazy, knowing smile. He could tell that there was something she wanted to say, but unlike Jesper, she kept it to herself. He was both relieved and irritated. He hated it when people kept things from him. Still, he had a fairly good idea what she was thinking about and he didn’t want her to say it out loud. “Well, I hope it ends up being a productive trip. You could do with some sun and air after rolling in the stink of Ketterdam.”

“I happen to like it,” Kaz pointed out. “Fits me quite well.”

“Hm, yes,” Nina replied, lying back down, “but I’m sure you’ll find other things that you like as well. Better things, prettier things.”

Kaz’s eyes flickered back to Inej, who glanced at him right when he did. She smiled at him, the kind of smile that he’d start a war over. It burned him worse than the sun. It wasn’t so bad. He could learn to tolerate places like this if it meant seeing that smile.


End file.
